Take Two
by yiska93
Summary: A rewrite of 'We Are Family.' Cameron and House travel to Chicago for a conference and along the way House gets to know a new Cameron one hidden behind a collection of lies, one kooky family and a dark secret from her past. Rated M for later content.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Friday October 12, 2008_

Allison Cameron was not the type of person who pouted. She wasn't the type of person who made obnoxious requests or threw her weight or name around to get her way. Right now, however, she was wishing that she were.

Cameron had been summoned to Cuddy's office by her nervous, twitching assistant. Since they had no case and the last one had been a relatively easy one - easy meaning the patient hadn't flat lined and Cuddy had only threatened to fire House once – she had no idea what it was about.

It turned out that it was worse than what she had been expecting. House was already sitting in their arguing with Cuddy when she walked in.

"A week?" He had asked. "But Mo-_om_, I would much rather stay here and play with Daddy Jimmy. I promise that I'll be a little angel." To prove his point he clasped his hands together and fluttered his eyelashes.

"Ah." Cuddy had smiled at Cameron. "The two of you are off to a conference in Chicago. It's a week. You leave on Sunday night." Here she shot a look at House. "If you don't go or I hear anything from the other doctors about Princeton Plainsboro's lack of respect or friendliness, there will be hell to pay."

House opened his mouth and Cuddy cut him off quickly. "You're going. And that's final."

* * *

><p>Cuddy stopped Cameron an hour later in the cafeteria. "I hope its okay that it's just you and House."<p>

Cameron put on her perkiest grin and turned on her charm. "It's just fine."

"With Chase still on leave and Foreman just back from being sick it seemed better just to send the two of you." Cameron nodded with a wince. Shortly after his fathers death Chase had tried to attack a patient who was a little too trying on his patience. He was given six weeks leave and still had another two weeks left to give him some time to try and heal. Foreman had been supposed to go with House to the conference, but it was hard to justify sending a doctor recovering from the flu to a hotel full of doctors.

"As long as both of us come back with no broken bones and alive," Cameron joked, "I'll consider the trip a success."

* * *

><p><em>Sunday, October 14, 2008<em>

Cameron stepped off of the plane with a tired sigh.

Cuddy had booked their flight for some ridiculous hour and it was already eleven pm. She was starving, tired and crabby. Worst of all she was back in the place she had grown up. It had been her prison and her home all into one and was the place she avoided unless backed up by all kinds of family and enough alcohol to last the entire trip.

"Sweet Home Chicago," Cameron muttered with a sigh, sending off a quick text to her older sister stating simply, 'Six and three is nine.'

"Little Miss Sunshine isn't all sunshine today?" House asked.

Cameron really wasn't in the mood for snark so she just shrugged wearily. Chase knew that her relationship to Chicago was rocky and for a moment she wished he were here. "Some days are better than others. Today is a bad day."

"Everybody lies," House came up behind her and poked her with his cane. "Even you fall to that truth."

"And life's a bitch and then you die. Everyone falls to that truth too."

House whistled. "Did someone forget to take their nice pills this morning?"

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Let's get out of here, I'm starving."

"Avoidance, always the best tactic," he replied, but didn't press her. "Cuddles was kind enough to supply us with a rental car."

They headed through the maze that was O'Hare airport, to the baggage claim and finally to the rental car area where they loaded their SUV.

House stared at Cameron, holding his hand out for the keys. She blatantly ignored him and slid into the drivers' seat.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Driving."

"I drive."

"House, I grew up here. I am hungry and I want a burger. Right now. If you don't let me drive I will find a way to kill you with a rare tropical disease that not even you can find the cure to."

House held up his hands in defeat.

Twenty minutes later they were pulling up to a biker bar. At least, that's what the skeleton on a motorcycle in front indicated.

"Welcome to the Twisted Spoke," was all Cameron said as she grabbed her purse and stepped out.

"Are we lost?" House asked skeptically.

"Not even close to lost."

"Yet we're at a biker bar."

"They have great burgers and I'm hungry." This was definitely a new side to Cameron House thought as he watched her stride confidently into the restaurant.

"So how exactly did you find this place?" House asked around a mouthful of 'Boss Hog Sandwich' that Cameron had recommended. She set down her burger and took a sip of root beer.

"My Aunt and Uncle use to take my other siblings and me here."

"Really?"

House covered a smirk as he pictured a very prim and proper young Allison Cameron eating at a biker bar. Maybe she would finally loosen up at the damn conference.

"There were four of us, so my family used the 'divide and conquer' method concerning sporting events. This was usually where we would all meet up to eat, compare scores and switch family members." Cameron explained. "My cousins and my siblings were all very close in age and we all participated in various things."

"Ballet is not a sport."

"I did do ballet," Cameron admitted freely. "As well as tap. But I also played soccer and hockey as well as horseback riding, ice skating, gymnastics. By the end of high school I was down to track, soccer and horseback riding though. Between my siblings we managed to participate in almost every sport offered at the Park District."

"I can't really see you as a hockey player," House snorted.

"I played offense," Cameron grinned. "I lost my two front teeth when I was seven to a rather angry goalie."

Their waiter appeared and handed Cameron the bill. She smiled her thanks before pulling out a credit card.

"You know we can charge this to the hospital." House grinned manically.

"Too much hassle waiting to be paid back," Cameron protested. "Besides its not like thirty bucks will make or break me."

The two walked out and climbed into the rental car tiredly.

Chicago was home, but since her mothers' death when she was 12, it hadn't been the mystical magical place she loved.

Being there with House (no she _didn't _still like him) had the possibility to make it special again. They had never been to her old haunts, had never climbed the rocks at Evanston with her or done a mad rush to Wishbone or hung out in a recording studio. They didn't have the same scars that she did. With that thought, Cameron climbed into the car and drove away from the Twisted Spoke towards their hotel.

* * *

><p>"Reservations under House." The woman at the front desk glared at House irritated. No one liked working at one am, even if it meant mostly sitting at a desk with a glazed look and playing Spider Solitaire.<p>

"One moment sir."

The floor of the Intercontinental Hotel was sparkling and Cameron stared at it trying to look past her distorted reflection. If she tilted her head more to the left she couldn't see the sign stating where they were and it made her feel less angry and more tired. Her Uncle Adam had taken her to this hotel on more than one occasion for some family bonding and just seeing the name of the place made her nauseous.

The woman from the front desk handed him a set of keys and then gave them instructions on how to get to their rooms. Cameron listened with only a half ear, but fell back into reality when she heard House's voice.

"Okay and now time for room situations my duckling." He made a face. "Foreman was supposed to come with me so Cuddy booked us a single room with two double beds. Are you going to have a girly melt down about privacy?"

"Two brothers, House. I doubt you have anything I haven't seen before." With that Cameron strode off towards room 721.

Cameron had been serious about the brothers. Growing up with two of them meant that the rooming situation while awkward would be slightly less awkward than it could have been – she had become an expert at turning her head just before one of them forgot she was there and walked out of the bathroom naked. They were her brothers though, not her boss. Maybe if the couch were comfortable enough she would sleep there tonight instead.

The door to the hotel room opened into a small hallway that led to a small kitchen and living room area. There was a set of double doors that opened into a bedroom with two double beds and a bathroom.

Cameron automatically moved to the doors opening them and throwing her suitcase on the bed closest to the window.

"Hey why do you get to pick?" House whined limping in after her.

"Because I'm the girl. Also because you don't actually care _and_ your bed is closer to the bathroom which lessens the probability of you flashing me after you shower."

House stared at her as she silently began to unpack.

* * *

><p>Two hours later Cameron lay in bed staring at the ceiling unable to sleep. Tomorrow was a free day to mess around and sight see and then Tuesday brought meetings, conferences and uncomfortable dinners and luncheons.<p>

Cameron was absentmindedly braiding her hair when she felt her phone vibrate softly against her chest. She slipped out of bed and into the bathroom answering the phone call she had been awaiting with a half smile.

"Hey El." She paused wrinkling her brow as she thought through directions. "Okay. I think I can do that. I'll call if I get lost. Not too late though. Love you. Bye."

She hung up and using her phone as a flashlight began to quietly pull clothes from the dresser she was using. Holding a pair of skinny jeans and a black hoodie that she had kept from high school she changed quickly. Her purse, key card and a few other odds and ends were on her nightstand and she grabbed them.

In the kitchenette area she jotted down a quick note stating, _This is my home town so don't freak out. I went for a walk and then I'm off to meet some old friends a few blocks from here. If you get really desperate and I'm not answering my cell find Denny's. – Cameron_.

It was very unlikely that House would notice she was gone and if he did notice, that he would actually care, but Cameron was going to cover all her bases.

She pulled on some flats and left the hotel room, closing the door quietly behind her. Once in the hallway she pulled her hair up into a loose ponytail, slid on her glasses and put one ipod ear bud in before starting out the hotel door and out onto Michigan Avenue.

It almost felt good to be back in Chicago.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Allison Cameron had been born into a house of insanity. There was really no other way to explain it and in the later years when she had time to truly understand it, no other way that Cameron would have had it. (Well, there were many others ways she wished for it to be, but when all was said and done she had accepted her life as it was years ago.)

Her mother Elizabeth Kramer had been a twenty-year-old struggling musician when she met her husband Thomas Cameron. He was twenty-five and fresh out of law school. They married quickly but were waiting for Tom to establish himself at a law firm when Elizabeth hit it big. Her break through single topped the charts and the next year she had an entire album out.

Rather than move to New York or Los Angeles Thomas and Elizabeth stayed in Chicago and bought a nice house where she built recording studio. When she was touring Tom would fly out and meet her on weekends.

By the time Lizzie was thirty they had three children: Four year old twins Eleanor Rose and Matthew Thomas and 3-year-old Nicholas James. Allison Elizabeth had been a surprise when the twins were seven and Nicky was six. By then things in the Cameron household were going downhill. In fact, the tabloids blasted Elizabeth's pregnancy calling Allison a 'last ditch effort to save her marriage.' It was not to be and two months after Allison was born Tom and Lizzie separated.

It hadn't been an amicable split – in fact there had been an extremely messy custody battle and a paternity test (demanded by her father) to prove that Allison was in fact Thomas' child. Joint custody was finally given and by the time Allison was five Tom and Elizabeth had developed a relationship friendly enough to satisfy their children. In later years it would evolve into a friendship with the knowledge that they were much better off as friends than married.

Thomas married when Allison was almost a year and a half to the secretary he had been having an affair with for years. They had three children: twins Finna and Teagan when Allison was four and then Siobhan when she was ten.

It was only years later when she was almost twenty that she had learned that Siobhan was in fact not her sister. Not by blood anyway. She was still her sister in every other way that mattered. It would make sense in a sick, twisted manner that she wasn't but it still hurt.

Lizzie Kramer would remarry when Allison was three. Film director Joseph Dyer or Papa Joe as the kids had called him had been her rock in the storm, her best friend and later on her savior.

* * *

><p><em>Summer of 1990<em>

Twelve-year-old Allison had spent the first half of the summer with her mom and Papa Joe (this nickname having been shortened to PJ after about a year) in Hawaii while PJ filmed some kind of psychological thriller. It involved just enough blood and gore for Allison to be fascinated and was tame enough that her mother let her stay on set.

Ellie, Matt and Nick had spent time traversing between their dad's house in Chicago, friend's houses and Hawaii. Allison followed the Custody Agreement to a T while her siblings now legal adults bent it and molded it to their will.

Half way through the summer Lizzie put her daughter on a plane and sent her to Evanston, to a house a half a mile from the one that Lizzie and PJ had bought ten years earlier.

Allison loved being the big sister and doted upon her siblings as such. She played dress up with Finn and Tea and chased Shi around until the two year old was breathless with laughter. She did her best to stay out of her stepmoms way, who often chastised her for being too loud, too reckless, too skinny, too short, too _everything_ really.

Tom Cameron worked long hours as a partner at the law firm he had started at so many years ago, but tried to make time for his children. His relationship with Allison wasn't horrible, but it wasn't anywhere near perfect either.

Twice a week Finn, Tea and Shi's Uncle Adam came over. He would watch the girls while Gwen ran errands and saw friends, even though Allison insisted that she didn't need a babysitter to babysit. When she said that he would place a hand on her shoulder or her back and smile at her.

"You're still a little girl Allie. And little girls need uncles who will protect them."

Adam gave her the creeps but he never did anything that she could tell her mom about. Just that he smiled too much and sometimes stood too close or hugged her too long. Allison didn't say anything because there was nothing concrete. Besides her mom was in Hawaii for another four weeks and Adam had always been a little off.

Years later Allison would wonder what would have happened if she had told Lizzie and PJ that Adam acted funny when she was ten or eleven or even in the three weeks she had had with her mother before she died.

* * *

><p><em>September 29 1990<em>

Lizzie Kramer had died on a Sunday. It was four thirty seven pm when she was pronounced dead but it had really probably been about four fifteen. Truthfully the exact time didn't matter because the Cameron family used the whole day of September 29th to mourn her passing.

Eleanor was in her second year at Northwestern, Matthew at University of Michigan. Nicholas had been dropped off three weeks previous at Columbia.

It was a perfect day for apple picking and Allison had rushed through her homework so that they could go. PJ had been home as they were almost done with filming but had been on the phone all day talking to people. He had taken a minute though to hang up his phone and kiss Elizabeth good-bye and give Allison a tight hug.

"You two be careful. Don't overdose on apples. And bring some back for me!"

Allison had laughed and hugged him again. "I'll make sure mom doesn't eat them all," she had stage whispered.

Elizabeth had shoved her daughter playfully, kissed her husband good-bye and promised to drive safe just like she did every time they left the house.

On the way back from apple picking a driver who had fallen asleep at the wheel had run them off the highway. The car had spun off the highway before it slammed into the metal sidebar of the highway, skidded over the rail, rolled once and hit a tree. If it had been any other way Allison would have been the one dead. Actually, to this day she had no idea how she survived.

* * *

><p>"Allison Cameron and Elizabeth Kramer. I was told they here and no one has told me anything." PJ ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He had gotten worried when he hadn't heard from them by five. It was now six thirty. He had gotten the call about forty minutes ago saying that they had been in a car accident and to come to the hospital.<p>

The nurse looked up at him and then to her files. "I'll go see if I can find anything out for you sir." She bustled away and the doors opened to reveal Ellie.

"I came as soon as I got your message," she explained. "I'm missing my last class of the day but my professor can remove the stick from his ass and get over it. Any word?"

"The nurse just went to go see if she could find anything out. Fortunately no one seems to have ratted us out to the paparazzi." Now with something to do Joe led Ellie to the waiting room seats and gestured for her to sit. "Need anything?"

"Nope. Stop worrying. I'm sure that mom and Allie will be fine," Ellie commanded. "The two of them will be laughing about this is an hour." Her smile was uncertain though, as if she knew that wasn't the case. "Nick said he's still about two hours out, Matt boarded his plane about twenty minutes ago. I still can't get ahold of dad."

"Family of Elizabeth Kramer?" Joe and Ellie shot to their feet.

"That's us."

"Hello. I'm Dr. Yusei. If you two could please follow me -"

_*Two Hours Later*_

Ellie took a deep breath and rubbed her aching eyes. "PJ? What are we going to do?"

"We're going to do what we do best. We're going to think about Allie, we're going to cry, we're going to hug and we're going to -" Joe shot out of the waiting room seat and gestured for Ellie to follow him at a fast pace through the door they had used earlier. He had just barely seen the flash of a camera and he wasn't going to stand for it. "- avoid the paparazzi." He finished grimly. "Someone made a call. The vultures are descending."

* * *

><p>About ten minutes after the paparazzi had showed up a security team had appeared and kicked them out. Nick and Matt had arrived shortly after that both frantic and pale.<p>

They had waited with breathless anticipation for Allison to get out of surgery and now they were waiting for her to wake up. Allison had been wearing her seatbelt, which saved her life. Her main injuries included a broken right leg and three broken ribs that had lead to a punctured left lung. Glass from the windshield had cut her face and hands and she was covered in gauze and sickly bruises.

The family was taking shifts and currently PJ was sitting by her bed reading aloud from _A_ _Little Princess_, one of Allison's favorite books. She had been out of consciousness for two days now. The day before he had read _To Kill A Mocking Bird. _The family had been reading it since the morning and PJ was over halfway through the book.

"I-" PJ read slowly, annunciating carefully so that Allison could hear him. This was one of her favorite parts in the story of Sara Crewe. " - am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics. Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren't pretty or smart or young. They're still princesses. All of us. Didn't your father ever tell you that? Didn't he?"

PJ paused taking a deep breath and looking at his stepdaughter. If he hadn't been surveying her so closely he would have missed the finger twitch. Immediately he was up out of his seat and pressing the call button for the nurse.

The nurses hustled him out of the room and called the doctor. It took awhile for a drugged, groggy Allison to wake up completely, but PJ knew the exact moment when she did.

A high-pitched scream filled the air and PJ ran back into her room. The second she saw him her screams quieted for a second before becoming louder and then morphing into actual words. "I WANT MOM. PJ WHERE'S MOM?" One of the nurses tried to get Joe out of the room while another searched for a drug to calm the girl down. He artfully dodged the nurse and moved to his child's bedside.

"You don't need to drug her," he informed the second nurse. "Just give me two minutes. Please."

The nurse paused and then nodded, syringe still in hand. "Two minutes," she responded grimly. Allison still hadn't stopped screaming.

PJ allowed his face to get close to Allie's so that it was the only thing she could see. He then grabbed her shoulders very carefully.

"Lee. It's PJ. You're safe; I love you, everything okay. Take a few deep breaths for me sweetie." He repeated this until Allison's screams became whimpers and then pitiful sobbing hiccups. Her tantrum had worn her out and she was asleep again before the nurses had the chance to examine her.

* * *

><p>Ellie was sitting with her the next time Allison woke up, and it was Ellie who broke the horribly painful news to her little sister.<p>

Lizzie Kramer had died almost instantly at the scene of the accident. It was unlikely that she had experienced any pain or fear, a small comfort to the family.

The paparazzi had been outside of the hospital for the last few days sitting vigil for some news – not _good _news per say, but sensational news.

A statement was released shortly after that asking that instead of placing flowers donations be sent to various charities and that the family wished to grieve on their own, but they were thankful for the well wishers and that Allison was okay.

It was only when the media hype around Elizabeth began to fade that the paparazzi realized there was still a child in the mix, a child who was either going to stay with PJ Dyer or move in with the father whom she hadn't lived with since the first two months of her life.

Within the family though decisions had already been made. Allison would move in with Tom, Gwen and her three little sisters. The house that Lizzie and Joe had in Evanston would be kept up by PJ and the kids (those who were legal adults anyway) could stay there as they wished. When PJ was in town he would make arrangements to see Allison. The kids would never be kept from him.

At least, that was the standing when the arrangements were made. When all was said and done things would end quite differently.

* * *

><p>It only took Cameron about forty-five minutes to walk to Denny's in what would have been a ten-minute drive. She had enjoyed the walk even though she had been a tad bit cold in just a sweatshirt. Ellie had offered to pick her up but October was one of her favorite months and she had declined rather cheerfully.<p>

She arrived and pulled her hood off, the tension in her shoulders releasing slightly. Her musings had ended with her walk to Denny's which meant that she had the walk back to think about the memories Chicago was really dreading. The years after her mother's death that she had spent at her father's house, the years with her uncle Adam and the loneliness that had descended after her mother's death.

As she was reaching for the door a hand gripped her wrist tightly and swung her around. Cameron was grateful for the two-second hesitation she had for she was able to slow her reflexes and not punch her boss in the face.

"What the hell are you doing here House?"

He smiled grimly at her and held up her note. "The car _does _have GPS you know. And I could ask you the same thing Cameron. A few hours in Chicago and my good duckling is sneaking around at three am?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"House, you're my boss. I'm not working right now. That means that I don't have to explain myself to you and you have no right to demand answers from me."

Allison was cursing herself internally. If she hadn't left the note he probably would have just assumed she was exercising downstairs or swimming or some other in-hotel activity.

"I think that when my lone immunologist leaves the hotel we're staying at in the middle of the night to wander around downtown Chicago I have the right to ask questions." He grinned at her. "Drugs? Prostitution? Kinky sex clubs? What are you getting into? Do you know what could have happened to you?"

Inside House was seething. If she hadn't left the note he probably would have killed her. It was almost morning and here she was just meandering around town when god knows what could have happened to her.

Cameron's head was beginning to pound.

After her mother's death everyone had escaped Chicago, Nicholas even transferring to University of Colorado. They had left the twelve-year-old Allison with their father; assuming that he would take care of her like he had taken care of them when they were kids. There had been a convenient forgetfulness that Allison hadn't actually lived with the man in over twelve years.

The siblings had kept in touch, but it was a strained kind of touch for a few years, one that came with a deep sadness and made Allison call less and find no one to confide in. Even PJ found it at times difficult to talk to the girl who looked and sounded so much like her mother. She had been on her own to find an escape route by way of new friends and some not so brilliant situations. But, even when she had been fifteen and up wandering around Chicago at all hours of the night that was her problem - and no one else's business.

"Nothing did happen to me though. I'm fine." House grabbed her arm as she tried to slip into Denny's.

"Only because you have some dumb luck."

"Let go House." His grip was starting to hurt, but not enough where she was going to hurt him back to get away. Instead she made her voice low and harsh, the voice of one deadly calm pissed off individual. "_Let me go. Right now._"

House's eyes widened slightly and he dropped her arm as if he had been burned, only to bring up his cane to block the entrance.

"Al?" A man's head poked out. "The band was wondering if you were going to stand outside all night or actually come in and eat something." He paused, taking in the situation. "Do I need to hit someone?"

At this Allison managed to laugh. At least they had sent Steven over, Matthew's calm, rational boyfriend. His nickname for the family was also an old classic. "You haven't hit someone since that random man grabbed Matt's ass at Ellie's wedding and we all know it."

"I've been saving up some good punches for eleven years then."

Allison shrugged. "Be that as it may I'm a big girl. Tell 'em to give me two more minutes?"

Steven nodded. "We'll be watching. And Nick already ordered you some meal." He shook his head. "You guys eat at the strangest times."

Allison smiled at Steven's old complaint. "Spectacular." He disappeared back into the restaurant and House watched through the glass windows as he sat at a table filled with people.

"Who are all these people?"

"No one you need to know."

House shifted from one foot to the other and then slid around Cameron. "I guess I'll just ask them then."

Cameron dodged in front of the door. "You found me," she hissed. "Now go back to the hotel."

"Answer my question," he countered swiftly.

"Go away," Cameron ground out.

"As an individual" House announced decidedly, "I have the right to eat at Denny's whenever I want – even Foreman gained that right a few yeas ago." Cameron was speechless for the two seconds it took him to step around her and through the door, towards the table Steven had settled back at.

* * *

><p>Cameron trailed in behind House because she didn't know what else to do and took a moment to evaluate the table. It could have been worse but not that much worse. PJ wasn't there nor was her father or any other famous faces that she would have to worry about.<p>

Ellie was draped on one end of the booth talking animatedly to Finna. The younger half siblings had grown closer to the older ones as the years had gone on, however there would always be a special closeness between the three of them and Allie. Matt was next to Finna and Steven had just settled down on the other end of the booth.

Nick sat across from Matt who had taken the chair next to him to prop up his wounded leg, which was directly across from Steven. Teagan was next and talking to Nick. Allison's eyes finally settled on who she was looking for. Siobhan sat across from Ellie, lost in her own world her eyes peeled looking for Allison. The moment their eyes connected Siobhan jumped up from her seat and raced over.

Allison took the three seconds it took Shi to leap into her arms to contemplate fighting House. The moment her sister smiled at her though and exclaimed, "Lee I missed you!" Allison gave up. She missed these people too much to spend the rest of the night arguing with House.

"Hi Shi." Allie caught her in a one armed hug and laughed into her shoulder. "I missed you too. How was Rome?"

Siobhan pulled her sister towards the table, blatantly ignoring the man with the cane and handed her a steaming cup of hot chocolate. "Nicky was hungry so we got you some food and drink."

The drink warmed Allison's hands and she smiled gratefully at her little sister.

"I'll tell you all about Rome as soon as you tell me about the man that's glowering at your back."

Allison grinned at her and slipped into the seat that was Shi's, allowing her sister to perch on the other half of it.

"What man?"

His voice interrupted the game of Cat and Mouse that Allison was going to play. "I'm your friends pimp. I've decided I have to follow her on a few jobs tonight because women can't be trusted to pay their men."

House wasn't sure what he was expected but it definitely wasn't for one of the younger red headed girls to laugh and clap her hands while the sole man sitting in a chair groaned, let go of the woman that was hanging on him and pulled out his wallet.

"Bastard," Cameron muttered under her breath.

"Now, now Allie. You know mom and dad were married when I was born."

"And you know they weren't when I was," she shot back with missing a beat. "So don't be an ass about technicalities."

"They were married in name little miss smart ass. Now be nice and actually introduce us to the man that isn't your pimp." Ellie grinned at her little sister affectionately.

Allison cradled her hot chocolate possessively and shook her head. "Don't wanna."

"I'll take away the sugar rush you are currently experiencing," Nick threatened.

"I'll dump the sugar rush I'm currently experiencing on your head and stand here and watch because no doctor will help you."

Nick jerked his thumb at Finna. "Baby sis intern here will."

House was watching all of this but it was hard to keep track of names, especially because the two red heads looked remarkably alike, as did the older people at the table.

"Baby sis intern will _not_." Finna replied fiercely. "However if Allie won't introduce you to her pimp, I will."

"Oh!" Nick turned and nodded. "Dr. House. Pleasure to meet you. I'm Nicholas Cameron."

"Ignore him," Allison said, not addressing either man specifically. "He's a nut job."

"Allison, didn't PJ ever teach you to be nice to your elders?" Nick asked, a smirk pulling up his lips.

"He taught me how to shoot nerf guns at the paparazzi." Allison shot back without missing a beat. "And I was twelve and they were not. So, I believe we skipped that lesson."

Matt shook his head and turned to House. "You'll have to excuse them – they were raised by wolves. All of them." He held out a hand. "Matt Cameron, Allison's brother."

House made a split second decision and then took it. "Greg House, Allison's boss."

Matt nodded cheerfully. "I know. I'm Allie's favorite. And that right there is part of the rest of the Cameron family. I'm not even going to bother to introduce them."

Ellie rolled her eyes and picked up a spoon, which she used to hit a glass cup. The table quieted down and she gestured for House to pull up a chair.

"Okay. I have a list tonight of things to talk about." Allison groaned and hid her head behind Siobhan.

"Motion to adjourn?" She questioned hopefully.

"Anyone who seconds that right now will be babysitting the three terrors this Saturday for the whole day."

Shi, Nick and Teagan who had all been about to second it, closed their mouths abruptly.

"That's what I thought."

* * *

><p>Eleanor Dermer (nee Cameron) House realized an hour later, was a force to be reckoned with. She dealt with all family matters quickly and smoothly and shot glares left and right to make sure that her siblings listened to her.<p>

House had ordered breakfast and joined the siblings in munching on bacon and pancakes, watching with a fascinated amazement, as Allison Cameron became almost a completely different person around her siblings.

She was playful and funny and was constantly being silenced by Ellie with glares because she wanted to talk to her sister about Rome rather than listen to family plans.

An hour into the meal and House had figured out everyone's names at the table and that the two nearly identical sisters were twins – as were Ellie and Matt. Shi ('call me Siobhan and I will _kill_ you Dr. House.'), Nick and Allison cheerfully called themselves the triplets of the group and would randomly dissolve into 'triple talk', which was a mock up of the twins made up childhood languages.

All in all it took about two hours to get through the list that Ellie had made on a napkin before House had showed up. The siblings seemed to finally be winding down with both their food and their conversation when Ellie looked up from her list.

"One more thing." She paused. "The house -"

"No." Allison was up out of her chair and standing over her sister with a glare on her face.

"Allie - "

"_No._"

Ellie and Matt stood, but the three younger siblings, a weary Nick and Steven stayed frozen in their seats. "PJ promised me." Her throat was closing up and her breath was coming in short pants. "And you promised. After the trial. I made you all promise that you wouldn't take this one thing away from me."

Ellie slumped slightly, as if this argument was all that was needed to win her over.

"We should sell it Al," but her protest was weaker than all the words House had heard her use in the past hours.

"I will buy it from him myself if I have to." She grabbed her purse from the table and slipped her coat on. "Motion to adjourn?"

There was a long silence and finally with a defeated sigh Nick whispered, "seconded."

And with that Cameron fled.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

It was Nick who started in on his two older siblings the moment his sister was out the door. He stood when he began yelling at them and House was astonished to see Finna hastily shove a cane into his hand when he began to sway. Steven had stood up, waved, and disappeared to follow her. House assumed that this had to be a slightly regular occurrence.

"I told you. I _told_ you she wasn't ready. But, no -"

"Nick."

"We promised Matt. We promised her after the trial and the hospitals and the therapy. We _promised_."

"But maybe its time," It was Siobhan who cut the siblings off this time.

"It's not." There was no explanation behind the statement, nothing but the truth of it.

"Siobhan -"

"PJ's gonna yell at you," Siobhan replied. "And if he starts yelling at me -" Matt snorted at that and Siobhan raised a delicate eyebrow at her half-brother "I'm pointing fingers."

"She waited until you seconded the motion this time," Ellie volunteered. "So it went better than last time."

"Unless you want her to resent you forever we should probably stop bringing up the house."

"Nicky, we don't use it. No one does. PJ spends most of his time gone and we're all across the country. What is the point of having an empty house that no one calls home?"

Allison returned, Steven on her heels. Her cheeks were bright red and her lips were pursed in a thin line. "Because it's the last piece we have of mom," she shot back. "Because I was promised that it would be _my _choice to sell it and no one else's. Because its something that the paparazzi and Adam were never able to touch or take away from me." She offered her family the most tentative of half-grimaces. "And that's all I'm going to say about that."

"Thank you Forest Gump," Ellie shot back. "But this isn't over."

Twelve years had passed since Adam had been placed in jail for life and in those twelve years Allison had learned a lot – as had Siobhan. One thing she had learned was that it was okay to feel guilty and ashamed, _sometimes _but as a survivor of something that _was not and never would be her fault _she had the right to wear her survival as a badge of honor. That meant that even though Greg House, her one time crush, her boss and misanthropic drug addict was standing there she ignored him and focused on her sister.

She loved Ellie. She did. But her sister was seven years her senior and believed that she knew best, always. It did not matter that during the time Allison was living with her father she had been in a different state focusing on college and then Law School while Allison learned to survive and lie and defend her sisters.

"Eleanor Rose Cameron," she shot back, "You left. You upped Chicago and you left when mom died. As did Nicky and Matt. And that was what you needed to do at the time. I've accepted that, we've moved on. Whatever. However. You do not get to judge me for wanting to hold onto a piece of mom. You do not get to decide that I should just wake up one day and be over being brutally assaulted for almost six years of my life. That house was the one place that I could escape to knowing that no one would be there or get hurt because of me. So just because you think it's useless does not mean that you can take a vote for everyone and choose what to do with it. And on that note I have an early morning tomorrow and I'm sure I just got myself some sort of warning with my boss for going crazy in the middle of a Denny's. Steven will take me back to the hotel."

With that Cameron spun on her heel and stormed out of the restaurant, Steven shooting an apologetic look at the family even as he grabbed his keys.

* * *

><p><em>October 29, 1990<em>

The first time Adam had touched her, _really _touched her, had been a month after her mothers' death to the day. She had woken up, dreading another Sunday of seventh grade homework to find that Adam was spending the day with them while her dad and Gwen went out on a lunch date and then to visit a friend in the city. In other words, they would be gone all day.

Tom had thought that he was being helpful in getting Adam to come stay for the day. That way Allison would have someone if she needed help and she would also be able to work on her homework uninterrupted.

Siobhan was two and still at the age where she took a nap every day around three. Adam had set the twins up with _The Little Mermaid, _which had only recently come out on VHS, much to their excitement.

Although there were seven children in the family, there were five bedrooms and a master – meaning that Matt and Nick shared a room, as did Allison and Eleanor. The four of them resided on the top floor of the house, which was more of a converted suite and shared a bathroom and a small open sitting area with a television. It contained a mini-fridge as well, and Allison found that if she wasn't careful she could spend hours in her space without even realizing that she hadn't even ventured downstairs.

By the time Adam made his way up to her room Allison was seated at her desk writing a book report on _To Kill a Mockingbird. _She had read the books many times already and was frantically engrossed in her writing. She was so engrossed she didn't hear Adam come up the stairs and she nearly jumped out of her skin when he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Hi sweetheart."

Allison placed her hand on her chest and took a shuddering breath. "Uncle Adam," she choked out. "You startled me."

Adam smiled at her and brushed some hair out of her face. His eyes were dark and Allison focused on calming her breath and remaining still. Adam always got angry when she tried to move away from grabby hands.

"I didn't mean to sweetheart," his hands moved to her shoulders and he leaned over her desk to look at her paper. His breath smelled vaguely of the peanut butter sandwiches he had given the little girls for lunch. "I just came to check up on you. The twins are watching a movie and Siobhan is napping so I decided to come check on my favorite niece."

"Thanks Uncle Adam. I'm working really hard on my essay for English. I just have to finish this paragraph and then write my conclusion."

Adam beamed at her even as his fingers danced down her sides slightly. "A good girl like you should take a break as a reward for working so hard."

His hands had successfully trailed enough and he began to brush his fingers over her barely-there breasts.

"I -" Allison faltered on her words. "Uncle Adam, what're you doing? I don't like that." Her voice had risen slightly in pitch and she tried to shove back her chair, forgetting that he was directly behind her. The man didn't move an inch and Allison found her chair was rocked backwards with her thighs tightly against her desk and she was even more stuck than she had been thirty seconds ago.

"Shhhh sweetheart," he soothed. "Ever since your mom died," Allison let out a strangled gasp at the reminder as he moved his hands under her shirt, "you haven't been acting like yourself. I'm just trying to make you feel better." He deftly unhooked the front-clasp training bra Elizabeth had bought her three months ago. She was pressing her back against the chair and Adam was unable to slide her shirt off of her. With a sigh Adam took a step back and Allison almost fell out of her chair, but Adams hands caught her and dragged her to him. Allison turned and tried to run towards her door but Adam was much stronger than the girl. He threw her on the bed and climbed on top of her quickly, pinning her with his knees and catching her flailing arms in her hands. She opened her mouth to scream and Adam kneed her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her without a moment's hesitation.

"Listen to me," he hissed "and listen well, because this is the only time I will tell you this." That was a complete and utter lie, but Allison just nodded with her eyes wide and fearful. "It was your idea to go apple picking that day, and it was you who got your mother killed. I am merely helping you serve your penance like the good uncle that I am. I need to show you something. Are you going to be a good girl and not move?" Allison just stared at him wide eyed and Adam smiled. "That's the good girl I know." He reached into the jacket he was wearing and pulled out a handgun. "It's loaded Allison," he promised her. "And you know that I can shoot." That at least was true. "This is going to be our little secret. But if for some reason you feel the need to tell anyone I will kill you. And then I will wait a few days and I will go after your sisters." Allison could feel her world spinning around her frantically. "Siobhan's your favorite isn't she?" He mused out loud. "She's a little young for me right now but -"

"I won't say anything!" Allison burst out. The moment the words left her lips she began to sob and Adam pulled back with a satisfied look on his face.

"I always knew you were a smart girl." Adam trailed his hands under her shirt and slowly began to divest her of her clothes.

Allison turned in her first unfinished essay that Monday and couldn't bring herself to care.

* * *

><p>In the car Allison curled herself into a ball and let the tears stream down her face. Steven didn't say anything, merely passed her a Kleenex. Allison gave herself exactly 30 seconds to pull herself together.<p>

"Truth?" She asked him, after she had gotten ahold of herself.

"Your truth, my truth, or the real truth?"

"Psychiatrist."

"Words" Steven answered back without taking his eyes off the road.

Allison sighed. She had met Steven seven months before Adam had been arrested. He had been an intern at Northwestern Community Hospital when she had been admitted to the psych ward and he was one of the people who had dragged her out of her mind and back into the 'real world.' And Steven had no intention of letting her crawl back into that hole.

"Are they right? Should I sell the house?"

"Do you want to?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's the only place that I always felt safe. Because Ellie _promised_. Because its mine and no one else's and it's the last piece of mom. Because of all the reasons I said in there."

"Ellie's being a bit of a bitch," Steven admitted freely, drawing a strangled laugh from her. "She's worried about you though."

"Why?"

"Probably the trauma of the year."

Two years ago Nicky had been in Iraq, reporting, when an IED had gone off. He had sustained injuries to his brain, not unlike those of Bob Woodruff and had lost all movement in his left leg. Six months ago he had made the dramatic decision to have his leg cut off so that he wouldn't have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Allison had been supportive of his decision, as had Finna who was the other doctor of the family. Matt had Steven who would sit and quietly repeat the mental aspects of all decisions until Matt understood why things had to be done. Ellie, on the other hand, had freaked out.

"What does Nicky's missing leg have to do with my house?"

"Well, the only reason that you still have the house is because of your bad memories everywhere."

"Nicky hasn't gone crazy and ended up in the psych ward though. He's probably the most sane out of all of us."

Steven continued in his lecture tone as though Allison hadn't interrupted him. "But Ellie associates the house with people having bad memories."

"So basically," Allison summed up, "she wants to sell the house so she can sweep everything bad that's ever happened to this family under the rug. That's stupid."

"Don't call your sister stupid."

"Fine. She's a dumbass. Better?" Allison asked flippantly. Ellie was her older sister and she loved her but the two still clashed often. Ellie had swirled back into Allison's life after the trial trying to fix things that couldn't be fixed and making too many assumptions that had shattered their already delicate relationship. It had taken years to fix.

"Allison Elizabeth. Just because Ellie has different ideals than you doesn't mean that you get to call her mean things. We'll have mediation sometime later this week after I talk to her."

Allison was sulking now like a child and she couldn't bring herself to care. Steven pulled up to the hotel, but locked the doors, clearly indicating he wasn't done speaking.

"Al, just because Ellie doesn't understand you doesn't mean that you get to hate her."

"Just because El doesn't understand me doesn't mean that she gets to control my decisions."

"She's not is she?" At Steven's pointed look Allison relented with a shrug and he unlocked the doors. "Get a good nights sleep and I'll call you when everything is a little more settled and the bloodshed has stopped." She cracked a grin at that and leaned across the seat to hug her pseudo brother.

"Thanks Steven. Good night."

* * *

><p>Greg House was not normally one to be stunned into silence. However, the latest display was one that needed some careful dissecting and thought before anything could be said.<p>

Cameron had stated that she had endured six years of brutal abuse but she hadn't said what kind of abuse or from whom. House was mad. He had asked her if she had been abused and she had lied to him. Everybody lies, but everybody was not supposed to be Cameron lying about being hurt. She had also said that all of her siblings were gone when that had happened. Not that he had learned enough about her siblings to figure out where they had been or what the age differences between them were. And if their mother was dead she had to have been older seeing as she had three younger sisters.

"Twelve."

"Excuse me?" House asked, turning to look at the girl who had been sharing a chair with Allison all evening.

"You have that really concentrated look on your face, so I'm helping you fill in the blanks – some of them anyway. Allie was twelve when the abuse really started and when her mom died."

"Her mom?"

It was one of the twins who piped up from the other side, "we don't share the same mother."

House looked between the three older siblings, whom were busy arguing, and the three younger ones who had all moved close to speak to him.

Finna and Teagan were nearly identical with blue eyes and light brown hair. Both had high cheekbones and pointed chins that Siobhan shared as a defining feature. "You have Cameron's eyes," he finally mused, glancing at Siobhan. "Except you."

Shi grinned. "I'm the red-headed stepchild," she explained. Her hand reached up and tugged at the red curls that were framing her face. She had shocking green eyes that no one else seemed to have.

"Shi -" one of the twins started, causing the girl to laugh.

"I'm just _saying_ what we all already _know_." The two older sisters looked at each other and shrugged in defeat. After Siobhan had learned of her paternity she had never been concerned about it being public knowledge. Thomas Cameron's name was on her birth certificate and had been the father she had always known and loved.

House was watching the three of them. "So Cameron was twelve," he repeated.

Teagan picked up the thread of the story. "_Allie_ was twelve. Nick was eighteen and the twins were nineteen. So they went away to college and she moved in to dad's house. Finna and I were eight and Shi was two." Teagan stood gracefully and turned to her two sisters. "And now I must say goodnight because I have to be up early tomorrow. Let me know what the verdict of all of this is tomorrow, eh?"

It seemed like a statement of conversation closed because the other two sisters nodded their agreement and stood up to say their goodbyes. House followed them to his car as Cameron's three older siblings continued to fight, lost in thought.''


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Cameron was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling when he walked back into the hotel room twenty minutes later. The lights were all on and it was clear that she wasn't sleeping and had no intentions of even attempting to. House sat on his bed watching her for about thirty seconds before he spoke.

"So – that was fun. We should do it again some time. Maybe next time you could throw a punch instead of just yelling."

He was surprised when Cameron actually let out a small chuckle.

"That was a mild family meal, House. The fun ones are always during the holidays. Tensions run a lot higher then and we add in at least a dozen more family members."

"And is it always you and Emily causing problems?" He asked, messing up her sister's name to see if he could pull a reaction from her.

Cameron didn't acknowledge the slip up, merely shrugged. "_Ellie_ and I have always clashed." She snorted quietly then. "Actually, she's a lot like you in that way. Irritating and always needs to be right."

"I am always right."

Cameron didn't respond, merely rolled over onto her side, her back to House. "You can turn the lights off whenever you want. We don't have anything scheduled tomorrow but I have plans."

"Excellent. Where are we going?"

"You can go wherever you want. I'm going _home_."

House took his shoes off and followed Cameron's actions of lying down. "But Cameron if you leave me all alone there's no telling what I'll get into and that will just make Cuddles unhappy and then you'll be glued to my side for the rest of the conference."

Cameron didn't answer and House wasn't sure if her steady breathing was actual sleep or her faking it, but he decided in that moment not to bother her. No matter what tomorrow brought, House would be with her and, hopefully, her very entertaining family.

* * *

><p><em>Monday, October 15, 2008<em>

Cameron rolled over with a groan and glanced at the clock, startled to see that it was already 10:15. She wasn't on a set schedule – and Shi had agreed to meet up whenever, so Allison breathed a mental sigh of relief and grabbed her phone from the bedside.

_Awake? _The first text read, followed by about three or four more asking the same question in a variety of ways finally stopped just three minutes ago with a long and drawn out, _Allliieeeeeeeee_

_Sorry Shi, _she shot back _must be the jet lag or something. I'm up. I have to shower and get dressed and then I'll grab a train and we can meet up for brunch and the like?_

Allison got out of bed and began to rummage through her clothes as she waited for her sister to text back. Her phone finally beeped twice and Cameron glanced at it long enough to see the _Yeah, sounds good just let me know when to get you _before she left the room to make good on her word.

* * *

><p>Cameron stepped out of the bathroom and let out a small yelp at seeing House standing in the bedroom. When she had woken up, he had not been there and she had thought nothing of it.<p>

"So," he asked, almost pleasantly, "what are we doing today?"

"_I _am going to brunch with Shi so she can fill me on her life and _you _are going to do whatever it is that you normally do on your free days during conferences."

"I normally follow my ducklings around and terrorize them," House reminded her.

Allison winced. Indeed, just a few months ago he had done the exact thing to Foreman. However, Foreman had not had family in the area that House delighted in.

"But if you go to lunch," Cameron pondered, pulling clothes of the dresser, "you won't be able to attend the shit show that will be dinner."

"Dr. Cameron," House smirked at her almost lasciviously. "Are you, _propositioning _me?"

"If that's what you would like to call it, go ahead. But I know my way around the city and I can get where I need to be a lot faster than you would be able to follow me. So, if you let me do things my way, you'll get to join the delightful bunch without having to sneak around to do it. I'll give you a moment to mull it over." She disappeared into the bathroom and emerged nearly ten minutes later dressed casually.

"How will I know that you're actually going to tell me where to meet you?"

Cameron sighed and rummaged in the bedside table before finding the paper and pen she was looking for. On it she wrote three phone numbers from memory follow by names.

"Shi, Nicky and Steven if you don't hear from me. And Steven _always _answers his phone 'just in case'." At the quotes House raised a brow and Cameron shrugged. "He's a psychiatrist. He's on call more often then not."

House took the list of numbers from her and Cameron put her boots on before grabbing her jacket and purse. Picking up her phone from the table she saw a new message and opened it.

"Well House, I say you've hit jackpot on family dinner tonight. Apparently the whole damn family is coming."

"There are _more _of you?"

"Ellie is married with three kids, Steve and Matt have two and Tea has a long term boyfriend from high school. You never know who Nicky will decide he wants to bring with him or if Shi or Finna have anyone to drag along. Plus my dad, stepmom and stepdad are coming as well." Having said her piece Cameron moved towards the front door.

"It's like the Brady Bunch, isn't it?" House couldn't help but calling down the hall.

Cameron popped her face in and grinned, somewhat manically. "One more thing before I forget – my stepdads name is Joseph Dyer."

Before House could comment she was out the door and down the hallway laughing as she went.

* * *

><p>House sat on the bed for a moment and allowed himself to absorb the information Cameron had shot at him. Joseph Dyer? <em>The <em>Joseph Dyer? Action Film Maker Galore right up there with Steven Spielberg, Joss Whedon and Quentin Tarantino? There was no way.

He had googled all of his employees before hiring them – it was one of the activities he enjoyed most. Wilson told him it was weird, but House enjoyed it far more than the resumes that Cuddy shoved in his face. Who cared what their resumes looked like if their facebook page was much more interesting?

Searching _Allison Cameron _brought up little new information. Links to facebook, her alma mater and some other odds and ends popped up, but nothing too interesting.

House tried again this time pairing _Allison Cameron _with _Joseph Dyer_. Immediately a Wikipedia page for the man popped up and he clicked on it, scrolling down to the label _Personal Life. _He skimmed until he came close to what he was looking for.

"_On August 15 1981 Joseph Dyer married Lizzie Kramer after two years of dating. They had no children together but Dyer became stepfather to her four children from her previous marriage to Thomas Cameron. Lizzie Kramer died from injuries sustained in a car accident on September 29__th__ 1990 that also nearly took the life of her daughter Allison Cameron."_

House, satisfied with what he had learned put his phone away and turned the tv on, popping a vicodin as he moved.

* * *

><p>It only took Cameron twenty minutes to get from Ogilvie to the train station in Evanston where she found Shi waiting for her in the parking lot.<p>

"Morning sunshine," Shi sang out as her sister dropped into the passengers seat. "I made the executive decision that large groups of people suck so I picked up bagels and the like from Panera. We can have a picnic at home."

"And _that_," Allison proclaimed with a grin, "is why you are my favorite sister."

"Also because I don't get in fights with you in the middle of Denny's."

"Minor detail."

"Not really." Shi paused for a moment and then glanced at her sister. "Do you remember what you said last night?"

"Does it matter?" Allison mused. "I know none of it was particularly mean or cut throat. Otherwise Steven would've marched me back in there like I was 16 and made me apologize."

"None of it was new – _for us_." Allison's face still registered blank and Shi sighed. "However, I would bet all the hair on my head that _your boss _didn't know all of it."

The car was silent for a long period of time, finally broken by Allison burying her head in her hands and groaning out load. "_Shit. Shitshitshitshitshit._"

"Allie." She ignored her and continued to curse into her hands. "Seriously. It can't be that bad."

"I told House that PJ would be coming to dinner tonight. If he wants he can _look it up_."

"Oh." Siobhan paused and thought for a moment. "Yeah, I don't actually have anything comforting to say in regards to that. Beside the fact that you liked this guy enough at one point to want to date him. And it's very, very hard to date someone and not tell them the truth about yourself. Especially in regards to a rather dark sexual history full of triggers, sometimes panic attacks and one attempted suicide."

The trial had, while not been highly publicized, been publicized enough. Anyone who used the correct search terms would dig up old archived articles and find exactly what they were looking for.

Cameron didn't lash out her sister for anything that she said, for it was all true. If her words had come from Ellie, it would be an entirely different story. But for someone who shared the same past as, Shi wasn't being anything but brutally truthful with her sister.

* * *

><p><em>June 27 1996<em>

Allison found herself sequestered in her room on Saturday morning trapped between a rock and a hard place. Ever since her release from the hospital the adults in her life had been moving around like ghosts trapped between wanting to talk to her, and being terrified that something they said would set her off.

PJ had insisted, and had finally been granted (by her father, not legally) the right for her to move back into her old house for a while. He believed that the change of atmosphere would help her recovery, and for the most part it did.

But, as always, all good things come to an end and after about three months of staying at the Dyer house, her father had asked her to move back in. Unable to explain why she didn't want to, Allison had agreed.

Which was why she found herself in this position at nine am on Saturday. At 11:00 she had to be back at the hospital for another one of her outpatient sessions. If she delayed long enough she might be able to pretend to sleep in and entirely miss having to associate with anyone downstairs until after therapy. The school had been very accommodating during her hospital stay, and thus Allison had not only walked with her class but also had completed all of the homework she had missed months ago. Thus, there was really no excuse to not hang out with everyone later that afternoon.

Heavy footsteps alerted her to someone coming and Allison immediately flopped down on the bed, curling up and closing her eyes in hopes that they would go away after seeing her asleep.

"Uncle Adam," Shi whispered, "Allie is still asleep. We should go back downstairs until she wakes up."

Allison couldn't help the tension that spread through her body and her uncle laughed softly. "Nonsense Siobhan. Allison is indeed awake, and if not we should probably wake her. After all, she is still a growing girl. And growing girls need to eat breakfast."

Allison could feel Adam step closer to her bed and had to resist the urge to roll away. He very rarely went up to her room with someone, or when many others were home, seeing as it could end extremely badly for him.

"Daddy said to let her sleep," Shi protested, still whispering.

"But they left to go see Tea and Finna play soccer, so now I'm the grown-up."

There was a pause as Shi took that in. At eight she still felt that it was always in her best interest to listen to the adult and she was clearly conflicted.

"But we have to show Allie what we've been up to before your mom and dad get home, remember?"

At that Allison's eyes flew open and she sat up in bed. Adam smirked at her and bent down, kissing her fully on the lips, catching her shoulders when she tried to pull away.

"You know I don't like it when you do that Allison," he reminded her sternly. "I'll let it slide because it's been six months since we've had time together, but I won't be so forgiving next time." Allison didn't say anything and he dug his hands into her shoulders. "Say, 'thank you Uncle Adam.'"

"Thank you Uncle Adam."

"Now, Allison," Adam continued in a fatherly tone, "You know when you left six months ago, you really left me no choice. Siobhan here was just so sad about you leaving – the same way that you were sad when your mother died."

Allison took a moment to look at her sister – really look at her. Shi's eyes were red as if she had been crying and Allison took in the deep-seated fear and hopelessness in her eyes and knew. The anger caught her by surprise but before she could lash out Adam had her pinned to the bed, straddling her hips, his arms pinning her wrists.

"Ah, ah, that's not how it works." With a broken Shi standing helpless, Adam spent the next hour reminding her exactly of how 'it' worked.

* * *

><p>It was close to eleven by the time Teagan, Finna and their parents returned from the soccer game. There was a post-it note on the fridge reading <em>Took Shi with me to appointment. Don't worry, brought books and stuff. She was curious. Be back later. ~Allie<em>

Tom read the note and furrowed his brow before shrugging. Siobhan had not taken her sisters hospitalization the hardest out of his youngest and they had been struggling for the last few months to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. Maybe a visit to meet Allie's therapist would help her grasp what was going on. Adam, knowing that his babysitting skills were unnecessary must have either driven the girls to the office or left. Judging by the lack of cars in the driveway, Tom assumed it was the latter.

* * *

><p>Alison entered the hospital slowly, clutching her sisters' hand. Siobhan had refused to let go since Adam left the house. She had held her hand while through them both getting dressed, through the tears of Allison refusing to let either of them to shower and the entire car ride to the hospital.<p>

"Excuse me? I'm looking for -"

"Allie?" Allison turned from the front desk to see one of the interns Steven standing in front of her looking surprised. "What are you doing here? I thought your appointments were moved to the outpatient clinic."

Allison nodded slowly. "They were. But it seemed easier to kill two birds with one stone."

Steven looked confused but his eyes passed over her to Siobhan who was now clutching her hand even tighter. "Is everything okay?"

"No." Allison paused for a long moment and Steven looked from the desk to her. "Would you like to go into a room?" He asked. "I can call Dr. Fuller and tell her that you're here and not at the outpatient clinic. I know her schedule is pretty light this weekend because a lot of people are on vacation."

"I – I think that would be best," Allison agreed. "Siobhan and I have a bit of a problem and I was hoping she could help." Steven ushered her and Siobhan into a room, gesturing for the two of them to sit down on the couch.

"I'll just go and call Dr. Fuller now. Is there anything I can get you? Some water maybe?"

"Water would be good, thank you." Steven left the room and Siobhan curled up into Allison and began crying again.

"Allie I want to go home."

"We can't," Allison said firmly. "We have to do the right thing. I'm scared too. But I'm not going to let him hurt you again."

"You can't promise that."

"If we have to move in with PJ so he can't get to us, we will, okay?"

Steven entered again with two glasses of water, handing them to the sisters. "Dr. Fuller is on her way. She said it should be about ten minutes."

"Thanks Steven." He hovered uncertainly for another minute. Although Allison came every Saturday for therapy the tension in her body seemed to indicate that this visit was different from the others she had had before it. The appearance of a younger and unhappy sibling was also an odd surprise.

"Are you sure everything is okay?"

"No," Allison said firmly. "But it will be."

* * *

><p>Dr. Fuller was a tall woman with warm brown eyes and short hair that she kept clipped away from her face. She breezed into the room, briefcase in hand and smiled gently at Allison and Siobhan.<p>

"Hello Allison, how are you doing today?"

Allison shrugged and gestured to the girl that Dr. Fuller was eying curiously. "This is my sister Siobhan. I -" Allison took a deep gasping breath, her chest tightening at the thought of what she had to do. Getting them to the hospital had been the easy part, but this, this was going to be one of the hardest things she had ever done. "I never told anyone the real reason I tried to kill myself."

Dr. Fuller nodded and dropped into a chair. "The easiest place to start," she reminded her gently, "is at the beginning."

"It started when my mom died." Those were the easiest words of the story to get out. Allison fixed her eyes above the woman's head and finally forced out the words that had been running through her mind all morning. "My step-Uncle Adam starting abusing me when I was 12." She paused and felt the sobs bubbling in her throat, and fought frantically to keep them down. "He raped me for the first time when I was fifteen. And – when I was in the hospital -" The tears were streaming down her face now and her breath was coming in frantic gasps. It was Siobhan who finally picked up the story from her sister, sitting up and brushing her hair out of her face before staring the doctor directly in the face.

"When Allie was in the hospital he hurt me too," she stated in a firm voice. "But Allie promised if I told, no one would ever hurt us again. So," Shi paused and took a deep breath. "I'm telling."

Dr. Fuller stared at the two in wide-eyed shock.


End file.
